You can see the pantry project here Painted concrete part one – the pantry

Weight, budget and choice – decisions!

At over 75 square metres, the cost of finishing our terrace in tile such as thin travertine would add up to over €1500 for tiles plus glue, grout and sealant. The tiles I was eyeing up would have cost over €4000 so I was actually looking for an interim solution whilst we decided.

Budget, as usual, was the key driver in the decision. As chief procurer of all “decorative” things, it came down to me on both look and costs.

Husband kept reminding me to minimize the weight of paving to the terrace.  As we intended to host large parties on this terrace, weight was to be kept to a minimum.

The terrace is south facing with bright sunshine year round, so highly reflective surfaces were also off the list.

Seeking a WOW factor

Designed as a natural extension from the inside to outdoors, it forms our “FFI” factor (Fab first impressions), from the entrance out through the newly installed French doors to our lake.

We chose flagstone look-alike tiling from Pavan for the new hall and kitchen/living areas. It was important to me that this look flowed through to the terrace.

Of course following our aim of a rustic modern old French house was also important to the overall effect.

Painted concrete offered a low cost, low glare/low weight option even if a bit labour intensive to create.

A confession at this point.  It took nearly two years before I finally decided on painted concrete – even if just a temporary option. I am so glad I waited for the right inspiration.

The plan….

With our usual naivety and enthusiasm motivated by a budget relieving idea, the terrace was approached with a “can do” attitude, especially after the pantry test success.

Like the pantry, the plan was to mimic stone tiles. However, this time large Persian styled carpets would become feature areas left and right of the french doors.

Husband and I had both admired a very simple painted concrete idea at Bab al Shams resort outside Dubai. This became the basis for my inspiration.

Here is how we did it.

Step one – Preparation of surfaces

Basically it was the same process as the pantry – only many times the size. Also it was outdoors in the elements creating other complexities not the least being weather dependent schedule.

Husband was well and truly on board from the start and helped with the power washing, acid wash and vacuuming of the terrace. All of this was much easier on an outdoor project compared to the pantry prep.

He left me to the creative part in the later stages which I was secretly pleased with.

Step 2 – the base coat colour 

Husband agreed to be chief painter’s assistant for the painted concrete base colour. Both armed with rollers and extender poles, it was completed in a relatively short time.

We chose to use Taupe for the first coat as a darker “grout” look than the stone colour we had used in the pantry.

After painting the areas to have faux tile applied, we masked off the two large areas for the Persian carpets and painted them in a lighter contrasting colour.

Like the pantry, we added a lighter coloured contrast edging to get us a straight line around the exposed stone walls and step out from the doors.

Like any floor surface, plan where you will start and finish so as not to paint yourself into a corner.

Try not to apply first coat in the heat of the day but ensure your surface is bone dry and concrete well cured before applying paint.

Clean, dry and cured – a must for painted concrete projects!

Dampness under your paint will lift it over time – we learnt the hard way.

Allow to dry 24 hours without walking on it. Cats ignored this advice but luckily most concrete paints are touch dry in a few hours.

Step 3 – taping up the tile elements

As mentioned, we to create a flow from inside to out. We marked up the area immediately outside the french doors with the same pattern and dimensions as the interior tiles.

However, beyond this to the left and right we decided on a simple pattern to the larger size of tile from this pattern. The time and effort to try and replicate the “Versailles” tiling grid was mind numbing.

No one has noticed and it saved a lot of time, effort and masking tape.

As with the pantry, we made cardboard templates from our actual hall tiles to help with the laying down of the pattern and tape. We did the Versailles pattern strip first as shown here:

Ensure your tape joints neatly fit one another. Any gap or overlap will show up when you remove the tapes after the next step.

Step 4 – Painting the tiles

I applied the “tile look” paint to this area first to test the look. Using the same sea sponges, a scratchy brush and the assorted colours on plastic lids as I did in the pantry, the look emerged.

We finished the central “tiled” area and then I decided to get started on the carpets and after I would carry on with the “tiles” extending outwards from them.

Step 5 – Painting the concrete carpets

With a lot of the hard work out of the way, I was finally going to start on the area I was most looking forward to.

I chose strong Persian carpet colours for these areas that I had previously tested in the pantry. Red, dark blue, grey, yellow and soft green plus a few custom highlight colours I made from paint tints as I went.

Look for inspirations

At this point I could be seen running backwards and forwards between various actual Persian carpets inside the house for inspiration.

To form the base carpet pattern I taped off concentric portions from the outside in and painted alternate colours with a wide soft brush.

Be careful not to allow it to bleed under tape – although it can be touched up later.

Then came the feature areas in the centre of each carpet. The aim was for them to match in colour and style but be different in design.

I outlined some of the feature areas with pencil and painted the edges free hand, whilst more simple decals could be taped as per tile and stripe method.

Note the vacuum cleaner constantly on stand-by to keep surface clean of dust and grit.

The pantry painted concrete experiment proved that a large amount of stenciling wasout of the question. The size and nature of the concrete paint meant I had to devise alternate ways to apply the smaller details and design.

I used stencils at the corners of the carpets and in large motif areas in the centre of each carpet and then free hand, added simple colour highlights and details.

Experimenting with different ways of applying detail, I found lots of easy ways to create what looked like fine detail but was in fact simple to produce on a large scale.

By layering these up and repeating around between the solid colours, patterns that were simple gave an overall impression of fine detail and complexity.

The trick is to make sure you keep multiple colours in these design areas and make each stripe of design a repeat pattern or with some form of repeating element.

Easy home-made embellishment tools

Here are things I used to apply the decorations:

• The end of a chopstick dipped in paint made fantastic dot designs
• Various pencil erasers such as flower shaped etc from the dollar shop
• Cut up Wettex sponge into basic shapes could be smudged with paint and then pressed on stamp style.  I made simple circles, squares, diamonds and even a paisley inspired shape.
• Rubber key rings in various shapes
• Fine brushes for the occassional straight line or flick in conjunction with the stamps
• An old schnapps glass rim dipped in paint created small circles.

Layer up the design elements and colours

The trick is to use simple easy to apply in bulk shapes and colour elements and then layer them.  Below you can see a stripe, spot or serious of dots which when applied in various colours create a more complex effect.

If using a stencil, apply in one colour and go back to your various stamps or stabbers and make them look more complex by adding more colour and detail.  As per photo below.

Easy colour block elements by taping & painting as per your tiles and easy dot and dash design elements. When viewed closely here you can see they are a bit wonky, but from afar not being perfect actually makes them more realistic.

Raid the house for shapes to trace

I drew around plates, bowls and other kitchen items to get basic shapes and then added a stencil or stamping and a bit of fine brush detail for large decal elements.

When viewed as one it looks complex but actually it is very simple and requires no artistic skill whatsoever.  Please don’t tell my husband this though.

For the fringes, I used a piece of Wettex cut in a circle which I stamped all along each end to make the knots.  Then with a fine brush I added a white swish on one side of the spot and a grey swish on the other.

With white and grey I then flicked lines with a fine brush to make the fringes.

Note: You need to let areas dry before adding new colour over them.  So keep working colour by colour and come back to areas previously started once they are dry.

Step 6 – Completing your painted concrete floor

Finish off any tiles, detailing and area edges and stand back and admire.

Know when to stop – something my Husband doubted I was capable with this project.

Decide if you are going to use a sealer.  In hindsight, I wish we had but I was terrified of the shiny and reflective surface from the pantry project, something we were trying to avoid in this bright sunny area.

The colours have faded a little but only I would notice. There are also a few areas that are wearing but if anything it has made the area look more organic and authentic.

It is now four years since we painted the terrace and it looks nearly as good as the first day.  We love it.

Time and costs

It is hard to estimate how long this project took as I would only tackle it on fine days when it was not too hot.  I suppose in reality it was a week long project once the base colour was down.

We spent approximately €250 on paint, tape and paint tints. A clear finish would have cost another €40 for a single coat.

I already owned the stencils and various elements used for dabbing and stamping.

All in all, we are delighted with the result, the costs and the fun of having something original and unique.  With all we have done on the house here it is still the area that gets the most comments.

For a simpler look you could simply paint an area in one colour and add a carpet in one other single colour. Stripes, checks/plaid, wooden rocker patterns or even polka dots would all look great depending on your floor is situated.

Find an area to practice and have some fun.

Give it a try!

*Some notes on concrete paints in France

Over the various painted concrete projects undertaken, we have tried several brands in all their quality options.

In all instances we have opted for exterior paint only.

Whilst a little more expensive, the “intensive traffic area” paint proved best for large areas.

Decorative elements such as stencil highlights or small design areas are fine with the basic exterior concrete paint variety.

We only used the water based brands.  Ease of washing out, quickness of drying and ease to mix colours all proved best with water based varieties.

To avoid having to buy a large number of tins to give you colour variations, the small tubes of colour concentrates available in most hardware stores work well in concrete paint. Purchase creams, white and/or light grey paints and various paint tint tubes to colour up small quantities.

However, for larger areas I suggest you use off the shelf colour for ease of touch up or repairing any damages in the future.

Top/sealant coats are available and we have sampled several. However all gave a glossy finish even though stated as matt.  The non-slip variety did have fine granules in it but when dried, there was little visible or textural difference.

The best value and widest ranges of concrete paint we found here in France were at Castorama and Leroy Merlin.  Dependent on quality and brand, large tins cost from  €29- €60 and small tins cost  €12 upwards.

The finest width tape (14mm) was found at Castorama although I had to order in extra supplies due to amount needed. Explaining what I needed it for tested my basic French skills to their exhausted limit. Confusion from man behind counter was worth the effort.

The post Painted concrete Part 2 – large terrace appeared first on Our French DIY & more.

In my mind was a rustic yet natural finish of sandstone or terracotta.

At over 75 square metres, the cost of of the job with a tile was adding up. My basic choice began at €1500 for tiles plus glue, grout and sealant. The hand cut sandstone look I adored was €120 PER SQUARE METRE!!!!

Budget, as usual was a driver in the decision. As chief procurer of all “decorative” things, it came down to me on both look and costs.

The decision

The decision was made to try painted concrete. As usual with this house project, naivety and enthusiasm along with budget relieving ideas, I had no experience or real knowledge of how to do this so that it was both beautiful and low maintenance.

However, a quick look at Leroy Merlin’s website and learning about cost per square metre, I came up with a cost of €200-300 for all materials needed. In other words, the whole project could be completed for the price of two and a half square metres of my preferred sandstone slabs. Decision made!

The Look

I decided I wanted to try and mimic my much loved stone slabs and also add some featured elements that would look like Persian carpets. Hopefully it would not be too obvious as being only painted concrete.

However, it needed to be tested. Husband was fully on board with the idea although telling him it would be similar paint finish to a Formula One pit garage might also have helped.

Perfecting the idea – the painted concrete pantry test

Firstly, I lugged the four tins of concrete paint down into some old chicken coops we were about to demolish.  Their old concrete floors would be a great place to try out my skill. We bought these first tins at Leroy Merlin.  Here is a link to give you an idea of the colours and prices available. Leroy Merlin range of paints

The Ripolin brand is more expensive than the Luxens but seems to be a better quality.

Armed with various rollers, brushes, rags and sponges, some stencils and rolls of masking tape, I set up the laboratory of concrete painting.

My early attempts eventually had promise but the look on husband’s face showed he needed some more convincing. It may have been the way I was presenting it or the environment I had chosen among the old tangled chicken wire and overgrown brambles we had to climb through to view my test patches.

The pantry was an area that had been used to store fruit and veges over the winter by the previous owners. It also became a temporary tools storage/workshop during the massive kitchen project adjacent.

It was a very rough diamond to start with as you can see in the photos but it had a concrete floor and that was what inspired me to get on and renovate the area. Adjacent to the newly finished kitchen/dining and living area, the timing was perfect.

The Process

Obviously a tidy up was to come first.

We decided that the old freezer left behind by previous owners and move it around as needed.  It was full of our supplies and getting it out was just too hard for a husband and his mildly strong wife.

Then after a quick rendering of the walls, acid cleaning the floors to remove centuries of grease and grime, we had a blank canvas with which to work. Painted concrete tile floor – here we come.

What you need – materials

• a few tiles/stones or printouts of look you want to achieve.  (this helps you emulate the colours). I had bit of old limestone and a few cheap tiles I picked up out of a remnant bin.
• Cement acid wash/de-greaser – we used hydrochloric which we mixed to 5% with water.
• Base colour high intensity traffic concrete paint. Check tin for square metre coverage to judge quantity. Exterior paint is higher wearing but more expensive.  It would depend on the wear area you are painting.
• At least two highlight colours of concrete paint to create your tile look. Only small tins needed as you will not need as much as the base coat.
• If wanting to create more colour options but not the expense of whole tins, buy paint tint tubes – much cheaper and gives you plenty of options to mix your own contrasts.
• A tin of top coat if you wish to seal it – optional and again based upon intensity of traffic to area. The hardware stores do recommend it.
• Masking tape for “grout” areas.  Obviously the thinner the tape the more realistic the grout.  Unfortunately 14mm is the thinnest I can find here in France – I would love thinner and trying to cut the rolls down proved a disaster for us.

Tip:  If your masking tape tears as you unroll it, microwave it for 20 seconds. 

• Large roller and edge brush for the base coat.
• Sea sponges – different textures and densities produce differing patterns.
• Touch up thin brush for any grout touch ups later
• Cardboard or sturdy stencil of your tile shape
• Stencils and contrast colours for any more decorative elements such as a mat or carpet or decorative edging.
• Rags and paper towel to smudge with.
• Rubber gloves as the sponging is a messy business.

Step one: The base coat 

After all surfaces were spic and span, the first coat of Pierre (stone) coloured concrete paint was applied using a medium density roller and a smaller foam roller into the corners.  

The base colour/coat needs to dry for 24 hours.

Our concrete stains and wear shone through so we decided on two coats of the base colour.

Step Two – The masking tape to create your tiles

The laying down of the masking tape is important as it forms your tiles once painted over and a removed.

Ruling lines and measuring would have taken me ages, so I made a cardboard template of the size of “tile” I wanted. I decided on a 20cm x 40cm size.

I began my first tile at the furthest corner (as if a cut tile). This gave me a starting point to work backwards from.

Whatever your pattern, I suggest you start at the furthest end and work towards your entrance/exit area.

With a bit of contrasting coloured chalk and using my cardboard template, I laid down long diagonal strips (horizontal) directly along the edge of the template. Then I ruled lines for where each tile would finish (vertical).

Long lines of masking tape soon filled half the room and I went back to then divide each portion into its individual tiles.  You can see this in the photo below.

Laying down the painters/masking tape to form your tiles.

This photo shows the first areas of “tile” masked up and the contrasting edging I decided to do as the walls were far from straight.

I also had a play with masking up other shapes and feature areas as a rehearsal for the terrace. Photos below.

Working on the diagonal was much easier for me than trying to get straight lines across the room which would be more obvious if slightly our of alignment.

I also decided to make a light coloured border around the room to disguise the crooked old stone walls. By running this as a straight line and simply leaving the base coat exposed, it tricked the eye into seeing only straight lines.

Creating the tiles – trompe l’oeil

Now came the fun part – creating the tiles!

I decided I wanted a stone/travertine look after experimenting with terracotta tile, marble and other possible effects. My limited artistic ability and the time element involved all came together to help make this decision

After much trial and error in the old chook pen, I found using a sea sponge was the best and easiest way.

I used four different colours of concrete paint; light grey, taupe, cream and a pale yellow.  I dolloped a quantity of each colour paint on old ice-cream container lids.  Any plastic surface with a lip would do.

Then dipping the sponge in a colour, I started to dab it around. Alternating colours with each dob as I worked tile by tile around the room. I wanted to make sure that some “tiles would be darker/lighter than others to give a more natural look of “real stone” tiles. Different pressures of dabs and smudges will obviously create different texture looks.

Stand back and review your work regularly!

A good trick is to keep standing up and stepping back to see how your tiles are evolving. If too dark or too patchy simply layer on some more colour or smudge it more as you go.

REMEMBER: make sure you build up your paint up and over the masking tape or you will not get a definitive line of “grout” when you reveal your finished area.

Allow to dry 24 hours.  Then gently peel away all your masking tape to reveal your masterpiece.

Do any “grout” touch up with your base colour as needed with a fine brush.

Stencil features

I also played with stencils to create a door mat effect at the door using stronger colours of red, white, ochre and navy blue. At one stage I had thought I would do an brick style floor and played with other shapes under the soon to be installed wine racks.

At this point I learnt a lot about concrete paint and stencils. It is sticky stuff that forms a skin very quickly. The paint ruined my stencils and the concrete paint even in small quantities on my stencil sponge had a habit of bleeding. It was at this point that I knew a different method was going to be needed if I was not going to blow the budget buying the many very expensive concrete/floor stencils available.

I have compiled a large reference library of these stencils on my Pinterest page since this project and have a few ideas of where I can attack next, especially with smoother surfaces.  I have a wood floor upstairs that is crying out for some magic.  Stay tuned.  Here are some of my saved inspirations. Painted carpets Pinterest

The finished pantry

We added a nonslip top coat especially for painted concrete to the finished area. Although it said matt finish on the tin, it proved glossier than I would have liked.  However, I hardly notice this anymore.

Note the fun I had painting the old freezer with home-made blackboard paint for frozen food stock control. I always forget what’s in the freezer. This has helped enormously.

What goes in is chalked on and the family is under threat of death if they don’t wipe off what they have removed! It makes shopping a breeze and makes me feel organized – a bonus for anyone in renovation disarray.

Now for the terrace project…

So much learnt, it was time to take on the real painted concrete project that the pantry was a test for.  You can see the process and results here…Painted concrete Part 2 terrace

The post Painted concrete part one – the pantry appeared first on Our French DIY & more.